You could soon pay only for internet services you have consumed and not the price set by...
You could soon only pay for the internet services you have consumed, and not a pre-determined price set by service providers, if a new Bill currently before the House is passed into law.
The Kenya Information and Communication (Amendment) Bill, 2025, sponsored by Aldai MP Marianne Kitany, seeks to amend the Kenya Information and Communications Act, Cap 411A, to provide for metered billing of internet use based on consumption, in order to mitigate exploitation and secure the economic interests of internet users in line with Article 46 of the Constitution, which provides for consumer rights.
"The overall object of this Bill is to promote consumer protection by ensuring that consumers of internet services only pay for what they consume and not pre-determined over-priced internet services," reads the Bill.
At present, the cost of internet services is high and remains inaccessible to a majority of Kenyans who cannot afford to subscribe, in particular to wireless internet. As a result, most consumers shift between different providers in order to cut down on costs.
If enacted, the Bill provides that an internet service provider shall operate a metered billing system, which shall assign each customer a unique identifier and meter number, monitor customer usage and convert that usage into readable details. The internet service provider shall also be required to create invoices based on consumption and allow for user verification of invoices.
"An internet service provider licensed under this Act shall submit to the Authority, at least once in every financial year, information on the billing system, including internet meter numbers issued to subscribers," reads the Bill.
Pre-priced wireless internet services and bundles are inflated, and the cost of such packages is not based on real consumption. The Bill therefore seeks to protect consumers of internet services, including small-scale businesses and the youth, who are among the highest consumers of the internet, by ensuring that, moving forward, the cost of internet shall be based on actual consumption.
"The Bill seeks to secure the economic interest of internet consumers in line with Article 46 of the Constitution. Consumer protection is a function of the national government as provided for under the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution," it reads.
For internet providers currently holding valid licences and registrations, the proposed law provides that their licences will remain valid until expiry. However, upon expiry, subsequent registration and licensing will be done under the new Act.
The Bill, which would also enhance access to internet services in Kenya, may, however, face resistance from sector players who continue to provide high-cost internet services without regard to consumer protection considerations.
There are also questions about whether internet service providers have the capacity to develop and deploy quality metered billing systems capable of monitoring customer usage, which may be expensive for service providers and, in turn, passed on to consumers in the form of higher costs. To address this, the Committee on Information and Innovation, which is currently examining the Bill, is considering the idea of billing internet usage through app-based platforms.
There are also concerns about the data protection of consumers, which are arguably addressed by the data protection law that provides a robust framework to ensure that every Kenyan's right to privacy is protected by persons handling data, including internet service providers.
Over the years, Bills seeking to amend the Kenya Information and Communications Act have faced strong regulatory pushback. For instance, previous proposals to amend the Act, including one requiring telco firms to obtain the consent of consumers before subscribing them to premium-rate services, faced huge resistance before its eventual enactment in 2017. Those amendments were in response to public outcry over the subscription of consumers to premium-rate services without their consent and without full disclosure of the attendant costs by telecommunication operators.
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